SoCal Swordfight 2025 - Event Wrap-Up and Tournament Results
SoCal Swordfight 2025 featured an unprecedented array of competitive events, showcasing the skill and dedication of HEMA practitioners from around the world. With 27 tournaments across various disciplines, over 2,684 matches, and 16,170 total exchanges, the event offered something for every level of competitor.
SoCal Swordfight 2025 Finals:
SoCal Swordfight 2025 Tournament Results:
Jason Taylor Memorial Open Steel Longsword Tournaments
Open Steel Longsword - Tier A Open:
1st: Antoni Olbrychski (Akademia Szermierzy)
2nd: Miro Lahtela (EHMS)
3rd: Stephen Cheney (Bucks Historical Longsword)
4th: Maarten Van der Auwera (Sumus Soldani)
Open Steel Longsword - Tier B Open:
1st: Matthew Dominguez (San Diego Swordfighters)
2nd: Michael McIntyre (Academy of Arms, Los Angeles)
3rd: Muqing Niu (Nanjing Axon Martial Art)
4th: Frank Torkel (Masterless Fencing)
Open Steel Longsword - Tier C Open:
1st: Thomas Rich (Lonin League)
2nd: Logan Ray (Indes Ferox Gladio)
3rd: Michael DeSimone (Masterless Fencing)
4th: Andrew Aquino Salazar (Noble Science Academy)
Open Steel Longsword - Unrated Open:
1st: Jay Trojan (En Garde Fencing)
2nd: Daniel Smith (Blades Of Attrition)
3rd: Charlie Thompson (Scholars of Alcala)
4th: Troy Daniel Ozuna (Vagabond)
URG Steel Longsword Tournaments
URG Steel Longsword - Tier A:
1st: Jane Strange (San Diego Swordfighters)
2nd: Ashley Hearn (Atlanta Historical Fencing Academy)
3rd: Maeve Walls (Lonin League)
4th: Stevi Parker (Bucks Historical Longsword)
URG Steel Longsword - Tier B:
1st: Ashley Schoenfeld (Academy of Arms, Los Angeles)
2nd: Evy Weiland (San Diego Swordfighters)
3rd: Simone Boudreau (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
4th: Drew Lott (Lonin League)
Rapier Tournaments
Open Rapier & Dagger - Tier A Open:
1st: Robert Childs (Black Tigers)
2nd: Aryck Copley (En Garde Fencing)
3rd: Andy Hoang (Black Tigers)
4th: Chandler Brown (En Garde Fencing)
Open Rapier & Dagger - Tier B Open:
1st: Ramon Diaz (Mordhau Historical Combat)
2nd: Gille Buyle (Arte Mortiferum)
3rd: Jay Trojan (En Garde Fencing)
4th: Neko Kelly (SoCal Swords)
URG Rapier & Dagger:
1st: Rashelle DeBolt (Noble Science Academy)
2nd: Brittany Reeves (Mordhau Historical Combat)
3rd: Kari Baker (Mordhau Historical Combat)
4th: River Valles (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
Open Rapier (Single) - Tier A:
1st: Edward Craig (Melbourne Fencing Society)
2nd: Sawyer Freschi (GVG)
3rd: Samuel Ryals (Gem City Duelists Society)
4th: Habibi Favilla (MSS)
Open Rapier (Single) - Tier B:
1st: Justinder Singh (Burning Sun Historical Swordsmanship)
2nd: Zachary Brown (Superior HEMA)
3rd: Dimitri Sanborn (Ironwood Historic Swordsmanship)
4th: Matthew Lawrence (SoCal Swords)
Saber Tournaments
Open Steel Saber - Tier A :
1st: Antoni Olbrychski (Akademia Szermierzy)
2nd: Robert Childs (Black Tigers)
3rd: Ville Välimäki (EHMS)
4th: Samuel Ryals (Gem City Duelists Society)
Open Steel Saber - Tier B:
1st: Kalan Miurrelle (SoCal Swords)
2nd: Christopher Soohoo (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
3rd: Steven Obrzut (True Edge Academy of Swordsmanship)
4th: Joshua Ames (Lonin League)
Open Steel Saber - Tier C:
1st: Michael DeSimone (Masterless Fencing)
2nd: Fern Pacheco (Czort Fencing)
3rd: Liam Clark (Evergreen Historical Fencing)
4th: Andrew Sherman (Northwest Fencing Academy)
URG Steel Saber:
1st: Rashelle DeBolt (Noble Science Academy)
2nd: Brittany Reeves (Mordhau Historical Combat)
3rd: Iris Garcia (Lonin League)
4th: Beth Hammer (Lonin League)
Cutting Tournaments
Open Longsword Cutting - Tier A:
1st: Phillip Martin (Phoenix Society of Historical Swordsmanship)
2nd: Sean Dickinson (SoCal Swords)
3rd: Nolan Duino (SoCal Swords)
4th: Kevin Spencer (Fenris Kunst des Fechtens)
Open Longsword Cutting - Tier B:
1st: Mitchell Allen (Lonin League)
2nd: Matthew Cross
3rd: Dimitri Sanborn (Ironwood Historic Swordsmanship)
4th: Bryce Johns (True Edge Academy of Swordsmanship)
Open Longsword Cutting - Tier C:
1st: AJ Atry (SoCal Swords)
2nd: Kevin Murakoshi (Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy)
3rd: Gabriel Pottebaum (Indes Ferox Gladio)
4th: Aaron Yang (F3 Sword Academy)
Open Arming Sword Cutting - Tier A:
1st: Nolan Duino (SoCal Swords)
2nd: Matthew Cross
3rd: Jack Stewart (United Clans Swordsman Association)
4th: Matthew Thompson (Bighorn Historical Combat)
Open Arming Sword Cutting - Tier B:
1st: Eric Zhong (F3 Sword Academy)
2nd: Tyler Janzen (The Historical Combat Collective)
3rd: Michael Schachtner (Tattershall School of Defense)
4th: Julia Larsen (Lost Arts Historic Fencing)
U18 Tournaments
U18 Steel Longsword:
1st: Isaac Benzing (Mordhau Historical Combat)
2nd: Ivor Levinthal (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
3rd: Sam Sobolev (LA Skirmish)
4th: Torin Dabbs (Burning Sun Historical Swordsmanship)
U18 Rapier (Single):
1st: Christian Jacob Peralta (En Garde Fencing)
2nd: Sam Sobolev (LA Skirmish)
3rd: Ivor Levinthal (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
4th: Isaac Benzing (Mordhau Historical Combat)
U18 Singlestick:
1st: Sam Sobolev (LA Skirmish)
2nd: Christian Jacob Peralta (En Garde Fencing)
3rd: Isaac Benzing (Mordhau Historical Combat)
4th: Ivor Levinthal (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
U18 Longsword Cutting:
1st: Logan Zuniga (Kron Martial Arts, Fullerton)
2nd: Isaac Benzing (Mordhau Historical Combat)
3rd: Ivor Levinthal (Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts)
4th: Christian Jacob Peralta (En Garde Fencing)
Other Tournaments
Open Smallsword:
1st: Arthur Henry (Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy)
2nd: Kevin Murakoshi (Sacramento Historical Fencing Academy)
3rd: Justinder Singh (Burning Sun Historical Swordsmanship)
4th: Myles Cupp (SoCal Swords)
Singlestick - Boarding Action Tournament:
1st: Nassau (Ville Valimaki, Antoni Olbrychski, Miro Lahtela)
2nd: Ardent (Joe Collistro, Dashiell Harrison, Goose Le Ferta)
3rd: Tholen (Samuel Ryals, Thomas Kesler, Christopher Yang)
4th: San Miguel (Michael Tucker, Ian Wilson, Bryan Taylor)
Aggregate School Award
1st: SoCal Swords
2nd: Lonin League
3rd: Einhorn LA Historical Fencing Arts
4th: Academy of Arms, Los Angeles
Meet the
Board
RJ McKeehan - President & CEO
RJ has been doing HEMA for over 15 years, and helped with the organization of every SoCal Swordfight that has been run. He loves watching the evolution of competition and technique in both the fighting and cutting arenas. He continues to support HEMA and tournament development through running SoCal Swords in Orange, California.
Sean Franklin - Vice President
Sean has been doing HEMA for over 15 years and running HEMA tournaments for almost all of them. Though his competitive career was sadly cut short due to injury he has no shortage of things to keep busy with; coaching the next generation, helping push forward the scientific study/understanding of the community through SwordSTEM, developing and maintaining the most popular HEMA tournament software in the world, and traveling all over to learn from other practitioners and see the kaleidoscope of how competitive HEMA runs in different parts of the world. And of course, seeming to have a second full time, non-paying, job of helping run a number of the biggest and most competitive tournaments in the world.
Mickey Avila - Secretary
I will write a bio soon, I swear.
Myles Cupp - Director
Myles has over 20 years of fencing experience and has been practicing HEMA since 2010. He has been part of every SoCal Swordfight since the very first iteration. He promotes the expansion of academic programming at SoCal Swordfight including lectures, antiques presentations, and historically driven combat rule sets. Outside of SoCal Swordfight, Myles teaches regularly at SoCal Swords and at other events.
Isaac Patino - Treasurer
Isaac has worked as a photographer and organizer for SoCal Swordfight since 2024 and has participated in HEMA since then as well. He enjoys watching the event come together with support from the HEMA community and the global unity it brings. He also has enjoyed seeing tatami cutting grow in popularity. He's looking forward to continuing his work with the SoCal Swordfight team and helping the event expand in all aspects including adding more classes, competitions, and increasing engagement and awareness about HEMA.